Doppelganger
by John Reed
Summary: After episode 3x22 and "Lying to Herself" chapter 45 , Elena finds herself facing her transition to a vampire at the same time she learns some disturbing information about the Petrova Doppelgangers...
1. Remembering

_This story begins after Season 3, Episode 22 - The Departed...or, more precisely, after Lying to Herself chapter 45..._

Elena's eyes were drawn to Damon as soon as he entered the room. He was obviously upset, but his expression changed to relief when his eyes found hers. He hesitated a few feet away from her, his eyes moving to Stefan briefly, then returning to Elena.

As her eyes remained fixed on Damon, his expression was changing. He was starting to look concerned. Then he looked at Stefan again.

"Rick's dead," Damon said flatly.

"How did you…?" Stefan started, before Damon interrupted again.

"Rick's dead." He said, looking back to Elena as he asked. "But you're not. What did they do to you?"

Elena couldn't answer, and she couldn't look away. Damon started walking towards her again, but stopped when Stefan grabbed his arm.

"She's transitioning," Stefan said.

Damon shook off Stefan's grasp, but kept his eyes on Elena. "She did this to you – the blood-snatching bit…"

"Meredith saved Elena," Stefan interrupted. He was getting a little upset that Elena and Damon were ignoring him.

Damon's expression was changing again, and his voice was really soft as he asked her, "Are you OK?"

Elena wasn't sure if she should nod, shake her head or just shrug, so she didn't anything. She barely managed a whisper in reply, "I'm starting to remember…some things."

"Remember?" Stefan asked, turning to her. "Remember what?"

Elena wasn't sure what expression was on her face as her eyes held Damon's. Really, she wasn't sure what message she wanted to send him. Her mind was still processing her memories, as well as the fact that she was becoming a vampire. She had barely heard Stefan's question, she was barely aware that he was in the room with her.

"Elena!" Stefan said sharply, which broke her out of her trance. "What are you remembering?"

She shook her head, but still didn't look at Stefan. "Nothing." Then she looked back at Damon and asked, "You killed Alaric? How? You were supposed to be getting rid of Klaus."

"Rick took care of that," Damon said, glancing around her, looking around her for the usual bag she had hooked up to her, draining the blood out of her.

"Then he didn't create your bloodline," Elena said, closing her eyes. Now that she had broken eye contact with Damon, she was become aware of the sounds around her again.

"It appears he lied," Damon said. "How unexpected."

"He wasn't lying," a voice came from the doorway. Elena's eyes opened to see Elijah standing there, and Damon moving to stand in front of him, blocking his entrance.

Elijah sounded a little annoyed as he told Damon, "Just move, you can't keep me from her."

Damon smirked. "Don't be so sure - I just took out the uber-vampire hunter, from which your sister ran like a scared little girl."

"I admit I am surprised you live," Elijah said, "but don't think it means you can stop me. I'd hate to take away one of Elena's choices before she's made her final decision."

"Don't let that stop you," Damon retorted. "She's made her decis…"

"Damon!" Elena yelled, interrupting him. "Just...let him in."

Elena quickly glanced at Stefan, only to see that he was staring at her. She couldn't decide if she was glad or not that she hadn't been able to tell Stefan of her decision before she died, but she didn't want Damon mentioning what she said when she called him. The returning memories of him were starting to make her doubt her decision.

By the time Elijah reached her, Damon was standing behind her head. Stefan was on the side of the bed opposite of where Elijah had stopped.

"You're another one I am surprised to see alive," Elijah told Elena.

"Rebekah did this," Elena said, meeting his eyes.

"She turned you? I was only told that she left you to drown."

"No," Elena said, shaking her head slightly. "I mean she caused my death. I don't know how I got the vampire blood in me."

"So you can leave her alone now," Damon said. "You can't use her blood anymore, not that your bastard brother is around to try to get it."

Elijah looked briefly at Damon, but his eyes returned to Elena's before Damon had finished speaking.

"I am truly sorry for everything that has happened to you."

"You say that a lot," Damon responded when Elena didn't.

Elena and Elijah both ignored him. "Are you going through with the transition?" the Original asked the doppelganger.

Elena shrugged. She hadn't had the time to give it any thought at all – she awoke, Damon was there. That was all.

"I…don't know," she managed to say to Elijah.

"Rebekah is going to Kol now," Elijah said. "She knows I don't agree with what she did to you."

"She told me you were going to run," Stefan interjected.

"Things changed when she told me what she did to Elena," Elijah countered. Then looking at Elena, he added, "But she and Kol will be back for you."

"What?" Elena asked, sounding surprised. "Even now? What would they want with me?"

"The doppelganger blood isn't only used to make hybrids. With the help of a powerful witch, there are rumors of …so much more that it can do."

"But I'm not human anymore," Elena argued. "I thought I had to be human for the blood to be any good. Even Klaus thought that."

"You're not human," Elijah agreed. "But somewhere between Katerina and you there may be doppelganger blood that remains human. Once they know what has happened to you, Rebekah and Kol will come to you to get you to lead them to it."

"Lead them how?" Stefan asked. He had remained in place, across the bed from Elijah, though Damon had moved to stand very close to her, closer to Elijah.

"Elena will know her mother, her grandmother. They have the blood, they can be found. The bloodline can be traced to any living relatives. There may even be another doppelganger among them."

"Her mother is dead," Stefan said.

Elijah just looked at Elena. "Is there any possibility that this can be done?"

Elena slowly nodded, recalling that Isobel had told her that her parents were alive, that they visited her marker in the cemetery.

"Then we must find them first," Elijah said.

"We?" Damon asked. "Elena may not want to deal with Originals just now."

"Elena may not have a choice." Elijah looked at Damon as he said this, but turned back to Elena. "For now, complete the change. But if you decide not to, consider giving the information I need to get started before you let yourself die. If you don't, my brother and sister will seek it from any remaining family you have."

He turned to leave and had walked a few steps before turning back to Damon. "I'm sure that Elena's transition to vampire saved her, but I don't understand what saved you. Niklaus is dead, you should be dead as well. Unless," he added, turning back to Elena, "he used your blood to work a spell to keep him alive. Did you give him any."

"He took some," she whispered.

"If he is still alive in one form or another, what I have said applies even more. Help me find the doppelganger bloodline before he does."

Elena watched the Original go through the door as Damon began speaking.

"You're not going to trust him aga…"

"Stefan," Elena interrupted, "would you make sure he's really leaving?"

Stefan looked between her and Damon before finally saying, "Sure."

As soon as he was out of the room, Damon was saying, "Elena…"

"You compelled me!" she said sharply, turning to him.

His face changed as he processed what she said. Then he said "You knew how I felt. Every time I told you, you just told me about Stefan."

"That's not…true." Elena stuttered, closing her eyes and trying to remember a time when she hadn't. As she thought, she realized how bad she was feeling just then. Maybe it was the fear Elijah had created in her when he said her family was still in danger, maybe it was the transition. She just knew she was tired. Tired and her throat was starting to burn. Was it her need for blood?

She let her defenses down, let her exhaustion show as she opened her eyes and looked at Damon again. "That wasn't the only time. You compelled me when I first met you. Do you know how different things could have been?"

She let herself lay back down on the bed and let her eyes close.

"Could they have been different?" Damon asked softly, concerned that she had to face her transition in addition to the stress that Elijah had brought to her.

Damon heard Stefan's return, but was in his way before he entered the room. "She needs to rest," Damon whispered to his brother before letting him pass.

Stefan entered the room, but turned back to Damon immediately. "You know this is her choice, right? Whether to let herself become a vampire or not."

Damon didn't answer him – he just stared. All he could do was shake his head. "After all of this, would you still let her choose to die?" he asked as he turned to walk away.

He would give her a little space, some time alone with the brother she had chosen. But he would stay close as she changed, as close as she would let him.


	2. The Blood and the Breakfast

What would Happen

"She can't stay," Meredith said.

"You know she can't leave now," Damon replied. He was annoyed when Dr. Fell pulled him aside and spoke to him in hushed tones. "She has no protection from the sun."

Meredith shoved some papers into his hand. "Here are her discharge orders. She has until an hour after sunset. We're can't have a new vampire looking for a snack in here. Give her this if she needs it."

Damon's face darkened as he received the rolled up paper sack Meredith held in her other hand. He knew what was in it immediately - a blood bag. "Fine."

"I really am sorry, but if I hadn't given her your blood, she would be..."

"Dead," Damon interrupted. "I know. Thanks"

Meredith turned and walked away, not looking convinced that his gratitude was sincere. Damon returned to Elena's room to find her still lying on her side with her eyes closed - looking exactly as she did when he had left her more than an hour before.

Stefan, who was standing near the foot of her bed, glanced up when his brother appeared at the door.

"Has she stirred?" Damon asked softly.

Stefan shook his head and looked back to Elena.

Damon entered quietly and went straight to her as Stefan watched. He leaned over and touched her hair before pulling his hand back and soflty speaking to her. "We've been kicked out. We need to leave at sundown."

"We're not even sure she can walk," Stefan noted as Elena opened her eyes and looked at Damon. She started to push herself up and let Damon help her sit up.

"How do you feel?" Damon asked.

Elena shook her head and barely managed to whisper. "Not so good. My throat..."

She didn't finish, but Damon knew what she meant.

"You need blood," he told her softly.

"I know," she said, nodding her head.

"And you need to let her decide if she wants it or not," Stefan interjected, sounding annoyed.

Damon glared at his brother briefly. "Have you told her what will happen to her if she doesn't get blood?"

"I haven't told her anything," Stefan retorted. "She hasn't spoken to me."

"Stefan, don't," Elena said, rubbing her head with her fingers.

"Though you may already know," Damon said, speaking to Elena again. "You saw Katherine in the tomb after she had been without blood for awhile."

"You're just trying to scare her," Stefan said.

Damon and Elena ignored him. "I saw," Elena whispered, looking down.

"But it doesn't have to go that far." Stefan said quickly. "You can walk into the sun and end it."

Elena looked back up at Damon and said, "I saw that, too, when Isobel pulled off her necklace." She shuddered and closed her eyes again.

"Now you're scaring her," Damon said with a brief, sharp look towards Stefan.

Damon leaned in to whisper gently to Elena. "Remember – Jeremy needs you, and Isobel's parents - your grandparents – may be in danger."

She nodded without opening her eyes. "I remember."

"We need to go," Damon said, still whispering to Elena, "as soon as the sun goes down. Can you walk?"

"Yes," Elena said, opening her eyes and moving her legs to slide off of the bed. She stood, a little wobbly at first, then leaned against Damon. "I'd like to see Matt first."

"No," Meredith said from the doorway. None of the others had any idea of how long she had been there.

"Please," Elena implored, still standing, but leaning against Damon. "I just want to be sure he's OK."

"He'll be fine," the doctor replied.

"Did you give him vampire blood, too?" Elena asked tentatively.

Meredith shook her head. "He didn't need it. He just needs rest, and for vampires to leave him untouched while he recovers."

Elena found herself quickly looking away from Meredith as she realized she was looking at the doctor's neck, and listening to her heartbeat.

Elena closed her eyes and nodded. "OK. I get it."

Damon looked from Meredith to Elena and back, then he spoke to Meredith. "You should go. We'll be gone at sundown."

* * *

The Blood

It was Elena's car, but Stefan had driven it to the hospital. As he climbed into the driver's seat, Damon opened the back door for Elena, and handed her the paper sack. Elena looked inside and grimaced, rolling the bag closed again, but holding on to it.

"Do you want to be back here alone?" Damon asked.

Elena nodded as she climbed in holding the bag. She knew she needed the blood before facing Jeremy. She couldn't trust herself to talk to him after what she had just experienced when Meredith was close.

"Wait," Elena said as Damon closed the door. "Do you have something to open it?"

Damon silently took the blood bag and gave it a small rip. He handed back to her as she whispered, "Thank you," an apprehensive look on her face.

Elena glanced at Stefan as Damon climbed into the front beside him. He was watching her. She couldn't read the expression on Stefan's face, but tried not to think about it.

Damon saw his expression as he sat, and said "Don't look at her like that. It's the same choice you made, and she didn't kill anyone."

Damon turned to watch Elena as she looked at the bag carefully, tears starting to form in her eyes, a bit of a sick look on her face. She looked up at him whispered, "I didn't want this."

"I know," Damon whispered in return.

Finally, she pulled bag to her mouth and sipped. She felt immediate relief in her throat, so she drank more.

"At least stop watching her," Stefan said as he drove.

"She shouldn't think this is repulsive or embarrassing." Damon replied, still watching Elena. "It's natural,"

She couldn't read Damon's expression either, though her eyes remained fixed on his as she drank. However, she began to feel self-conscious as she wiped a small amount of blood from her lips, so she nodded her head forward to ask him to look away. When he did, she resumed drinking.

Elena felt much better as she put the empty bag back into the sack, laying it on the floor of her car as they pulled up to the Gilbert house.

As she exited the car, Damon reached behind her and picked up the sack. "I'll take care of this," he said, then as he turned to leave he added, "and I'll leave you two alone for awhile."

Elena started to ask him to wait, just for a little while, but decided she couldn't ask anymore of him just then. And she needed to face Stefan alone sometime.

"Okay," she said to Damon's back. "Thanks for everything, Damon. See you soon?"

Damon just raised his hand to acknowledge that he had heard her, and left.

Stefan tentatively put his arm around her to lead her into the house, whispering "Jeremy."

Elena nodded and started walking, letting his arm stay around her.

As they entered, she said, "I want to make sure I'm OK around him first, but when I nod, will you leave us alone for awhile?"

Stefan almost looked a little hurt as he said, "Are you sure you want to be alone while you're going through this?"

Elena shook her head. "No. Don't leave, just wait for me outside or upstairs or somewhere. I just want to talk to him alone."

"OK. But call if you need me."

Elena nodded and removed his arm as she entered the kitchen where Jeremy was sitting at the table. Her brother was up immediately, hugging her.

"Rick's gone," Jeremy said.

"I know," Elena responded, relieved that she felt she could control any urge to bite him. She turned her head and nodded to Stefan, then watched him leave before burying her head into Jeremy's shoulder.

"I saw him," the brother told his sister. "He came to me."

Elena pulled back to ask, "What did he say?"

"He said he would always be here for me, that I would never be alone."

Elena pulled him back into the hug. "You won't be alone. I'll always be with you."

"I know."

After a few seconds, Elena pulled back from him again. "He was OK? He didn't try to hurt…"

"It was the old Alaric." Jeremy interrupted. "He was fine."

Elena nodded, then thought of something. She looked down as she said, "I may need you to talk to one more dead vampire."

Jeremy stared at her for a few seconds, then said, "You never told what Rose meant about you and Damon."

Elena looked back up at him. "What did she say?"

"She said she was rooting for you and Damon. What was that supposed to mean?"

Elena winced. "I'm not sure what she meant"

"And I'm not sure I believe you. Is this how it's going to be between us?"

She knew she looked desperate, but tried to change the subject. "I need to talk to Isobel, my birth-…"

"The one who kidnapped me and Uncle John?" Jeremy interrupted sharply. "And you said she kidnapped you, too."

Elena looked down again. "She was compelled, and she was better before she died."

When she saw that he wasn't convinced, she added, "I just need some information. I'll try to get it some other way first, OK? You'll be a last resort."

"Medium for hire" Jeremy muttered as he left the kitchen, shaking his head. "Or really, for free…"

* * *

The Breakfast

Elena was outside when she saw Damon approach her. It was a few minutes before sunrise, so she wasn't surprised at his first words.

"You need to get back inside – the sun will be up soon."

Elena held up a necklace that she wore around her neck. "I'm testing this. It was Isobel's protection. When she died, she pulled it off and dropped it before she…was gone." Elena winced a little at the memory, but continued, "I picked it up and kept it since it was all I had of hers."

Damon nodded. "Are you OK?"

"I just need more blood. Stefan's out hunting. He's supposed to bring me something…to try." She shook her head. "I don't know if I can do it – bite a rabbit or cat or something."

Damon held up a blood bag he had brought for her. "You do need blood, you need to get strong."

He could tell she wanted it, but was holding back. Finally he said, "Nothing died for this blood."

She finally nodded; so he ripped it, as he had the other one, and gave it to her.

"Stefan was going to…introduce me to animal blood. I don't know if I can," she said before she started drinking from the bag.

"You just need to learn to control your blood-lust," Damon said softly. "Nobody needs to die."

Elena nodded as she drank. When she was done, Damon took the bag, folded it and put into a back pocket.

"Just a few more minutes to the sun," he said.

Elena nodded and sat on the porch. "I haven't told Stefan about what I said when I…called you before I died."

"When you dumped me."

Elena closed her eyes and nodded. "Things are different, now that I remember some things."

Damon looked at her. "Different how?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just need some time to…work things out." She looked at him, "so don't say anything to him…or anyone really, about it. OK?"

Damon hadn't responded when he heard something and was up immediately. Elena remained seated as she looked in the direction he was facing. Stefan was coming, carrying something in a burlap sack. Whatever it was made no noise and wasn't moving.

Damon turned to her, smirking. "Your breakfast is here."

Elena grimaced as she watched Stefan approach, grateful that Damon had brought her the human blood earlier.


	3. The Secrets and the Light

The Secrets

As soon as Elena entered her bedroom, she saw Damon lying on her bed, though he was moving to sit on the side of the bed as she entered.

"You didn't have to leave," Elena said as she sat next to him, her face trying to maintain a glare.

Damon was smirking. "What? You think I want to watch you eat a dead…what was it?"

Elena grimaced. "A rabbit."

"Do you think I want to watch you eat a sweet little dead bunny?" Damon's smirk remained. "And I was giving you some time with your chosen one."

"Don't call him that!" Elena said sharply. She took a deep breath and grimaced again, look down to the floor. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't…bite.." She let her voice trail off with a shake of her head.

"He must be so disappointed with you. How will he deal with you being a man-eater?"

Elena turned and glared at him. "Just stop. He understands, he was just trying to make it easier for me."

"Sure he was. What a saint. No wonder you chose him."

"Quit saying that!" She shook her head and took a breath to regain control. "Anyway, he says I won't have any trouble biting … whatever, if I catch it while hunting."

Damon face seemed to turn serious. "He may be right. You feel it, don't you? The urge to run someone down…"

"Yes," Elena said quickly, not wanting him to say more about hunting people. She closed her eyes and nodded. "When Meredith was in the doorway at the hospital, I didn't just want her blood, I wanted to run her down while she was trying to get away." She looked back up at him as she softly added, "I wanted it so bad."

He nodded knowingly. "You'll learn to control it."

"I hope so." She looked directly into his eyes as she added, "I still want to try animal blood," She sighed. "intellectually, at least. I know Caroline tried it and gave it up, and I know Stefan has trouble, sometimes. But I still want to try."

She was looking down again, not wanting to see what his expression revealed about his feelings on her wanting to try to live on animal blood. His voice pulled her eyes back to his.

"I know you didn't want this." Elena was shocked by his gentle tone. "I know you wanted to do things that you can't do right now, to have things you can't have anymore."

Elena nodded, holding his eyes.

"I wanted you to have everything you wanted." He continued. "I wanted you to live a full, happy human life. And I wanted to be a part of it."

Elena could only nod again.

"But I'm not sorry about this. I want to raise my glass," Damon said as he made the motion with his hand, "and toast your new life. You are so much safer now. Not completely, but a lot can't happen to you now that could have happened before."

He looked intently into her eyes. "I'll help you with what ever you want. I'll bring you human blood, or I'll help you run down Bambi and Thumper."

For some reason she closed her eyes tightly and nodded. She opened them again when she felt him lift the necklace from her chest.

"Did this work?" he asked.

"Yes," Elena nodded as she pulled it from his hand and let it fall back into place. "It works. I don't have to bug Bonnie with making something for me, which is probably good - she was weird around Caroline for awhile after she became a vampire."

"She came around," Damon said.

"I don't know how to tell anyone," she said. "I haven't told Jeremy … that I've changed. I don't know how to do that. I'm afraid he'll be scared of me."

Damon smirked again. "Yeah, that's Jeremy. Decapitates hybrids, dates vampires, talks to vampire ghosts, but afraid of his sister."

She shook her head. "I know, but it's just so different. I don't want him to think he's alone now."

"You're still his sister. That's not changing. Whatever else you want him to know about you is up to you. You can take your time."

As she nodded, he asked, "So, where is your chosen one?"

"I told you not to call him that."

"It's true," Damon muttered. "You chose him."

"You put me on the spot. You made me choose when my mind was all messed up because of what was going on with Rick and Originals and whatever."

She was glaring at him as she continued. "And you made me forget some things. It was a rash statement, and I'm taking it back, so don't say anything to him or to anyone else about it."

Damon didn't let it drop. "So are you going to 'let him go because you love him'?"

Elena closed her eyes and shook her head. "Damon, please. Can we not do this right now? There's a lot going on. I just need some time."

"Fine" he agreed. "Time we have. I trust you to figure it out. Eventually you'll realize which brother you can tell anything, and which you want to hide things from – like your blood-lust"

Elena looked down, "I'm not hiding it," she whispered, not really sure if she was or not.

"And if you ever feel the need to throw yourself at me again, like you did at that motel outside of Denver, feel free."

Elena let out a breath and pushed him as she stood up. "Just…keep what happens with us between us. Don't share, OK?"

Damon was smirking again. "Our secrets. And you should know that I'm willing to make as many secrets with you as you want..."

"Just help me with Isobel," Elena interrupted, sounding frustrated. "I've got to find her parents and talk to them."

Damon sobered. "We could use Rick's help…"

"Rick!" Elena interrupted excitedly. "I was afraid I would have to hang around Isobel's marker in the cemetery until they came to visit it, but Rick probably knew them."

"He's dead, Elena" Damon called to her as she stared to leave her bedroom.

"Not a problem," she said as she moved to Jermey's room, trying to remember what time it was before she knocked. She did not want to disturb him too early. He had a tendency to sleep much later than her since his return.

She decided it was late enough. "Jer" she called as she knocked.

The annoyed reply eventually came. "What?" Then he added groggily, "It's open."

Elena took that as an invitation to enter. "Jer, I need you to talk to Alaric…"

* * *

The Help

"We should try Katherine, too," Elena said as Jeremy was sitting down. "Maybe she knows something about the doppelganger blood-line" Damon and Stefan, who were both in the Gilbert living room with them, looked at each other when she said it.

"Katherine gave up her baby as soon as it was born," Stefan said. "She won't know anything."

"If Katherine and Isobel found each other," Elena argued, "she may have tried to find other descendents. We should at least ask."

When neither brother responded, she asked Damon, "She called you when Mikael was killed and she left. Can't you call her back?"

Damon stared at Stefan. "You're the one Katherine wanted. You're the one they both…"

"Damon!" Elena interrupted. "Isn't her number just in your phone. Can't you just call her?"

Damon smirked as he turned back to look at her. "Why not, if she kept the same phone? She's in hiding, but maybe she'll answer. She really was helping you before she left"

"She was helping herself," Stefan muttered as Elena nodded. "OK. Thanks." Then she turned to Jeremy. "Ready?"

"He's already here," Jeremy said, nodding towards a corner of the room. The eyes of the others looked to where he nodded.

"Do they always do that?" Alaric asked Jeremy, "Even though they can't see me, or whoever else it is?"

"They do," Jeremy answered, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Elena asked, hearing his words and seeing the eye-roll.

* * *

The Light

They were near the home of Isobel's parents when Elena saw that Elijah was nearby. She sighed, glad that Damon and Stefan were with her, and walked towards him.

"She walks in the light," Elijah said, glancing first at the necklace Elena wore, then moving to look into her eyes. "I assume this means you've decided to become one of us."

Elena felt a little self-conscious, but held his eyes as she nodded.

"Then welcome."

Elena managed a whispered, "thank you." For some reason, her mind went to her second encounter with Elijah, when she had gone to turn herself in to him, when Damon had stepped between her and the Original. Damon was next to her now, and she realized she was grateful for his presence.

Her thoughts were broken by Elijah speaking again. "I trust you have begun your search for your ancestors."

She nodded again. "I'm doing that right now."

Before she could say more, Damon spoke. "We trust that you are keeping your family in the dark about all of this. Though not we, really. Probably just Elena trusts you…with that."

Elena was a little annoyed at Damon's snarky statement, but Elijah did not react. "I've been in touch with them," the Original said. "They do not know if Elena died in the water or if the hunter still lives. They think I am making my way back to Mystic Falls to check on this."

"Good." Stefan said optimistically. "We have some time."

"They expect to hear from me in a couple of days." Elijah said, adding "Use it wisely," before turning and disappearing from sight.

"He lies to his murderous siblings, he lies to us…" Damon muttered.

"Okay," Elena said quickly. "Here's where you leave me," she said , speaking to both of them. "I'll let you know what happens."

Elena looked at each brother until he nodded, then finished her journey to her grandparents home as quickly as she could – trying to disappear from Damon and Stefan like Elijah had. She wasn't sure if she pulled it off, but she knew she had moved quicker than she ever had before.

She stood at the door for a few minutes, her mind racing. Should she have considered this more carefully? What would she say? What if they weren't home – maybe they both worked during the day. Would she want to eat them? Should she come back later?

She shook herself and pushed the button to ring the doorbell. Then she listened, trying to hear movement in the house; unsure if she was relieved, or not, when she heard someone move towards the door.


	4. The Blood of the Doppelganger

The Respect

"She asked us to let her go alone," Stefan said to his brother as he saw Damon start to follow Elena.

"I heard her," the reply came. Stefan saw that Damon was walking at a normal pace, so he rushed to stand in front of him.

Damon glared at Stefan, but stopped, so Stefan said, "I'm going to do what she has asked us to do. I think you should as well."

"Noted." Damon said, starting to walk around his brother. Stefan grabbed him.

"Damon, leave her alone. She wants to do this alone."

Damon shook his arm free with an angry expression on his face, though he did not say anything. Slowly his angry glare changed to a smirk.

"You're worried about me getting too close to her. You're worried about her choosing me."

"No," Stefan denied, though he didn't really sound all that sure about it. "Not when you keep doing the exact opposite of what she wants you to do. She won't like it."

Damon's smirk remained. "You're right. She won't like it any more than she liked that rabbit you tried to get her to eat."

"You know it's what she wants," Stefan argued. "You don't respect that, just like you don't respect her when she wants to be alone now."

"It has nothing to do with respect or what she wants," Damon said as he turned to walk away from his brother again. "I'm more interested in keeping her alive."

"She'll hate you for it," Stefan called to Damon as he walked away.

Damon's reply was soft, but Stefan heard it clearly, "She can do what she wants, just like she always has. I'm just going to make sure she stays alive to do it."

* * *

The Ghost

Klaus was in Mystic Falls, trying to decide what to do. He was alive, but in Tyler's body. Bonnie had made it clear to him that he could expect no help from her, she had only saved him to save her family and friends. Really, she acted like she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Still, he thought he could work things out himself, if he could decide what to do.

His brothers and sister could be anywhere. They probably would have fled when they thought he was dead, and Alaric was alive.

However, he thought he might be able to do something with the doppelganger blood that he had taken from Elena, something to set things right in his mind. Something to get revenge on those that had disabled him, maybe even something to get his body back. The doppelganger blood was that powerful, if he could find it. Those that had tried to kill him could have done anything with it.

He wasn't sure how to find it. And really, he did not know if there were rules in his new form – if he would be allowed to enter houses uninvited, for instance. He would need to be careful until he figured things out.

Still, if he could get the blood and find a witch, maybe he could do something…

His thoughts were interrupted as he recognized someone sitting on a bench nearby – Jeremy Gilbert. He was so startled that he stopped and stood in place. He was in Tyler's body, and Tyler was supposed to be dead. Jeremy would know that.

Klaus had been trying to avoid being seen by anyone who might recognize Tyler, but his mind had been so occupied that he had not seen Jeremy. He hoped, briefly, that Jeremy had not seen him, but then Elena's brother was standing up and walking towards him. Unsure what else to do, Klaus just stood there and watched him.

"Tyler?" Jeremy asked tentatively.

Klaus didn't speak, though he wondered why Jeremy didn't seem upset or afraid at seeing his dead friend. The Original just watched as the human tentatively reached for him, then pulled back before touching him.

"This must be weird for you," Jeremy said. "So different."

Klaus nodded. "You're not surprised to see me?"

"No," Jeremy said with a slight shake of his head. "Ever since I…" He took a breath and continued, "since I was brought back after I died, I've been able to see…uh…ghosts or whatever."

"Ghosts," Klaus repeated.

"Were you trying to reach me?" Jeremy asked. "That's when I see them, when they're reaching out to me."

Klaus hesitated, but said, "Yeah. Sure." Then when Jeremy waited, as if expecting him to say something, added, "I wanted to know how Caroline is."

Jeremy looked down and let out a breath. "She's okay. I mean, she's upset that you died, and I'll tell her that you're okay, if you want. She's been with Elena some."

Klaus tilted his head and asked, "With Elena?" He had left Elena to die after draining most of her blood – the blood that he wanted but did not know the location of. Still, he was not surprised to learn that the doppelganger was alive – she had survived his attempts to kill her before.

"Yeah," the human replied. "But she's not with Elena now. Elena went to see her grandmother – her birth mother's mother."

"Did she?"

"Yeah. Isobel, her birth mom died. And my mom, her adoptive mother is dead. She had me ask Alaric where Isobel's mother lives, since they were married. He told me, and she went there. I guess she's trying to find some family."

"Where?" Klaus asked when Jeremy didn't continue.

Jeremy looked confused. "I told you, Caroline's not with Elena now. Elena went there alone."

Klaus did his best to control his reaction. It was just as well that Jeremy thought he was a ghost. If Bonnie had not told Jeremy about the spell she had performed to keep him alive, maybe she hadn't told anyone else that he was alive. And if Elena was still alive, maybe he would not need to find the blood he had taken from her before he left her for dead. Maybe he would be able to go directly to the source.

He had not been able to get into Elena's house to take her before, and did not know if he could do it now, but maybe he wouldn't have to try to get to her at home. Maybe he could wait outside her grandmother's house – if he could get Jeremy to tell him the address.

"Still, just in case." Klaus said. "Elena may have changed her mind – she may have wanted someone to go with her without the boyfriend drama. Will give me the address?"

When Jeremy hesitated, he added, "It's not like they can see me. I just want to make sure that Caroline is…that both of them, are safe."

* * *

Jennifer

Elena's mind continued to race as she waited for the door to open. She had no idea what to expect, and, really, she had no idea how to approach her mission of finding her other living relatives.

She heard a hesitation as the person, who Elena thought was a woman, paused to look through the peephole. Then the door opened.

Elena was looking at a woman, probably in her late fifties or early sixties, gray hair, and face beaming.

"Jennifer!" the woman said excitedly, as if seeing an old friend. Then Elena found herself being pulled into a tight hug.

Elena was so shocked she couldn't speak, but it didn't really matter. The woman was pulling her inside, saying, "Come in, come in."

It was only then that Elena realized she needed this invitation to enter the woman's, her grandmother's, house. It had not even occurred to her that if she could not get her grandparents to invite her in, that she would have not way to enter their home.

The woman talked constantly as she pulled Elena by the arm into her living room and placed her on a couch. "How long has it been? At least a year. I never thought I'd see you here, though."

Elena was still too stunned to speak, certainly too stunned to interrupt the person she assumed was her grandmother.

"It's odd," the woman continued. "Sometimes in the last few years I thought I saw you here in Mystic Falls. I knew better, of course. I knew you were thousands of miles away."

Elena was finally able to shake her head and started to say something, when she was cut off again.

"Oh! I am a terrible hostess. Can I get you anything. Tea, or…"

Elena managed a smile and nodded. "Tea would be nice."

"Tea," the woman repeated, as she stood, then leaned over and gave Elena a quick kiss on the cheek, before saying "Oh you haven't changed a bit," as she turned and walked into what Elena thought must be the kitchen.

Elena tried to gather her thoughts as she heard the woman in the kitchen. She was trying to decide how to tell the woman that she was not this 'Jennifer", when she saw it on the fireplace mantle – a picture of Isobel in a nice, silver frame.

Elena rose, walked to the fireplace, and picked the picture up. It was definitely Isobel – her mother – exactly as she looked when Elena first encountered her.

As Elena held the picture, she found herself fingering the necklace she wore around her neck – the necklace that had been Isobel's. She also found herself feeling some pain. Was she missing Isobel?

"We miss her, too." Elena heard the woman say from nearby. Elena quickly released her necklace and replaced the picture before turning to face the woman. She also found herself quickly brushing one eye with a finger. She had felt something there, but was not sure what it was.

"Though I didn't think you knew her," the woman continued. "She disappeared when you were very young. But maybe you've seen pictures?"

Elena reached for the tray the woman carried, saying, "Let me help you with this."

She took the tray and placed it on a coffee table, then gave a cup to the woman before taking a cup and sitting next to the woman.

"Jen, have you seen pictures of our daughter?"

"I'm not Jennifer," Elena said, looking into her grandmother's eyes. "I'm Isobel's daughter."

Elena didn't need to hear the woman's increasing heart rate to know that she was tensing. She could see it.

"My name is Elena Gilbert."

Elena's grandmother scowled as Elena spoke, but quickly softened as she repeated "Gilbert, as in John Gilbert."

Elena almost felt ashamed as she nodded. "Grayson Gilbert, really. He was my adoptive father."

"The good brother."

Elena looked down briefly, when she heard her grandmother speak again. "Isobel never told us who adopted her daughter. She was so young, so reckless." When Elena met her eyes again, her grandmother added, "but you knew her?"

Elena quickly decided not to give out too much information. Isobel wasn't her reason for visiting.

"Just a little. I didn't know I was adopted until a couple of years ago, and she's gone now."

The other woman nodded, and Elena decided to get to the point.

"But you thought you recognized me, you thought I was someone named Jennifer."

"Yes," the grandmother said. "My niece. My sister was younger than me, and her daughter didn't have a child while in high school."

Elena grimaced. "And you thought I was her. Does she look like me?"

Elena's grandmother leaned forward and looked directly into Elena's eyes. "Elena, Jennifer looks exactly like you."


	5. The Human Form

Sick Feeling

"Jeremy!" Bonnie called. He was facing the other way, and it took several calls of his name for him to turn to her.

By the time he turned around, she had reached him. She quickly pulled him into a hug, but soon dropped it and stepped back. She hadn't meant to broadcast her feelings to him clearly.

"Are you OK?" Jeremy asked.

The witch nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

"I haven't seen you since…" Jeremy began, then hesitated. He looked away briefly as he added, "since you stopped my heart."

Bonnie looked down briefly and slowly said, " I … had to do some things." She hoped he wouldn't press her for details.

Jeremy just nodded. "Yeah. It's been crazy for me, too. Finally getting rid of Klaus, Elena getting hurt."

This startled Bonnie. "Elena is hurt?"

"She was.," Jeremy nodded. "she was in the hospital overnight, but she's home now."

"So she's OK?"

"Fine," Jeremy responded. "No problems that I can see."

Bonnie sighed in relief. "I'll go see her today."

"Make it later," Jeremy said. "She's out seeing her grandmother now."

Bonnie nodded. She tried to remember if Elena had mentioned a living grandmother but was broken out of her thoughts when Jeremy said, "Sucks about Tyler."

The witch could feel her face shift from initial surprise that Jeremy had mentioned Tyler's name, to a reflection of the guilt she felt about what she had done. She watched Jeremy's face as she pushed the guilt away as quickly as she could. Her mother, Elena , Caroline and more were alive because of what she had done. She hadn't liked it, but it was the only thing she could do.

"It does," she agreed when she felt she had control of her expression again. "But that was a random statement," she added to try to explain away the facial expressions she was sure he had seen on her.

"I … I just saw him." Jeremy stuttered, apparently surprised at her comment. "Or his ghost, really."

"His ghost?" She asked, unconsciously taking a step away from him at his mention of ghosts. She tried to push her thoughts of him and Anna's ghost away as she asked "You're sure it was his ghost?"

Jeremy looked confused now. "What else could it have been. He's dead now."

She was starting to get a sick feeling. "Did you try to touch it?"

"No," Jeremy said slowly. "Why would I do that?"

"What did he say?" she asked, still feeling sick.

"He asked about Caroline. I told him she was fine, but he wanted to check up on her. He even convinced me to give him the address of Elena's grandmother to see if Caroline was with her."

Bonnie's eyes were closed now as she shook her head. Surely Klaus wouldn't go after Elena. Nothing had been said, but surely he understood.

She shook herself one more time, then grabbed Jeremy's arm. "Come on."

Elena's brother was startled, but let her pull him. "What? Where are we going."

"My car," the witch replied. "We've got to go to Elena now!"

* * *

Interception

Damon was watching the Flemming house, the house of Elena's grandmother. He wasn't trying to hear what was going on inside, he really wasn't there to spy on her. He hadn't even decided if would let her know that he was there when she came out. He thought that Stefan was an idiot when it came to Elena's safety, but he didn't think his brother would tell Elena that he had been following her when she wanted to be alone.

Still, Damon wasn't trying to hide anything from Elena, either. If she saw him, she would be upset, but she would know his motives, and she would…

His thoughts were interrupted by the figure he saw coming towards the house. Tyler Lockwood.

Recently, it had all been about Elena. Keeping her safe, keeping threats away from her, getting dumped by her, killing her guardian, finding her in the hospital, helping her when she was first awakened – everything he did was about Elena. He hadn't paid much attention to anything else that was going on around him, but he was sure of one thing – Tyler Lockwood was dead. The Hybrid was dead, and Damon could not see ghosts.

He was immediately out of his hiding place, moving to intercept Tyler before he reached the Flemming front door.

* * *

The Form of the Doppelganger

Things had started off a little awkward between Elena and her Grandmother, but had gotten better during their conversation. In fact, as Elena rose to leave, the older woman gave her a hug.

"I never expected to meet you, Elena. I've thought about you from time to time, wondered about you, but never expected to meet you. I'm so glad you came by."

"Me too," Elena said, trying to be gentle as she returned the hug. "And I'll come back sometime when your husband is home."

"Nights and weekends," came the reply. "But call him Grandpa. He'd love to hear that."

"Ok," Elena said, picking up her purse and putting the slip of paper with Jennifer's address and phone number inside. "Thanks."

As Elena went through the door opened by her grandmother, she was wondering if she had ever seen a purse on Caroline or Katherine – any vampire, really. She was grateful she had heard the door had close behind her before she noticed the confrontation taking place nearby.

"I told you to get out of my way!" she heard Tyler say angrily to Damon. She closed her eyes, shook her head, and looked again. It really was Tyler.

"I heard you already," Damon said harshly. Elena couldn't read his expression, but moved to him as fast as she could, while he heard him continue, "I'm just being a jerk. And I'm not someone who runs. Elena has nothing to do with dead hybrids."

"One bite," Klaus said through clenched, "and you're dead."

"No!" Elena exclaimed as she reached them. She could tell that they were both surprised by her appearance, but assumed it was because they had been concentrating on their argument.

She moved to stand in front of Damon, but he immediately pushed her behind him.

"Stay back, Elena," Damon said.

She decided to do so, but whispered, "You too," to Damon as she tried to pull him a couple of steps back from the hybrid. She had seen enough of him and Rose suffering from werewolf bites, she did not want to see it again.

She hadn't been able to budge him, and the hybrid was so close. "Tyler," she began.

"That's not Tyler!" Damon interrupted, still trying to hold her back. "Tyler's dead."

Elena was just starting to realize that Damon was right, when she saw the hybrid move to try to bite Damon. She reacted instinctively. Damon was moving out of the way and trying to push Elena aside at the same time, so she tugged his arm and, since he was off balance, managed to throw him aside. Then she managed to grab the hybrid's arm and throw him in the other direction. He ended up much farther away from Elena than she expected.

Tyler looked stunned as she rushed to Damon and asked, "He didn't get you, did he?"

Damon shook his head, scowling, but he wasn't looking at her. He was still staring at Tyler. He pushed her aside with a shake of his head as she tried to help him up. When he had pulled himself up, Elena finally turned back towards Tyler.

"Well, well," the Original said. "Things seem to have changed."

"They've changed," Damon said, moving to stand in front of Elena again. "So you can leave her alone. Her blood is no good to you."

Klaus was smirking now. "Are you sure? Why do you think I chased Katerina for all those years."

When he didn't continue, Elena, still allowing Damon to stand between her and Tyler, whispered, "Revenge. For choosing to become a vampire rather than turning herself over to you."

"So she thought," Klaus agreed. "So she thinks now. Admittedly, the blood of a doppelganger in human form is thought to be the most powerful, but…"

He let his voice trail off as he smirked at them.

Elena felt a cold chill run through her. "You're saying that my blood…"

She was interrupted by a car slamming its brakes on the street next to them. As the door opened, Tyler was off his feet, landing a few feet away from them.

"Don't touch her!" Bonnie yelled at him as she moved to stand next to Elena. "Never touch her again."

Klaus quickly stood but remained in place, and his smirk remained intact. "Well, well. Fancy meeting you here."

"I let you live," Bonnie replied harshly. "I can end it anytime."

"You could, but everyone else here would be dead."

"Jeremy, no!" Elena yelled when she saw another car door open, and recognized the person who was starting to emerge. "Stay in the car."

"I suppose you'd still have your Jeremy," Klaus continued. "But, obviously, he's not enough. You want them all – all except Tyler."

One of Bonnie's arm flew forward as Klaus fell backwards. "Go now!" the witch yelled. "And stay away from them all."

Elena's eyes moved from Bonnie to Klaus as the Original pulled himself up.

"Fine," Klaus spat in reply. "It appears the doppelganger blood still exists in human form, and I know just where to start looking."

"No!" Elena exclaimed softly as the Original turned and began walking away. She leaned forward and almost spoke out loud, but found Bonnie pulling her back from one side, Damon from the other, as Damon made a soft "shhh" sound.

She let them hold onto her, but closed her eyes and turned her face away from Damon. She tried to concentrate on the car, rather than sounds of the Original walking away.

She opened her eyes again when Damon asked Bonnie "What did you do?"


	6. The Protector and the Huntress

What He can do for Her

Elena felt Damon drop her arm, but she didn't turn to him. She turned to Bonnie, who had thrown Elena's arm aside and taken a step back.

It took a second to realize that Bonnie was mouthing the word 'vampire'.

"What did you do?" Damon repeated, taking a step towards the witch. Elena moved to stay between him and Bonnie. The witch took another step back.

"Me?" Bonnie cried incredulously. "What did you do? Why is Elena a vampire?"

"Bonnie," Elena whispered, seeing that Jeremy was emerging from the car. "Jeremy doesn't know yet. Please."

"Great," the witch responded, sounding exasperated. "We're back in hiding-things-from-Jeremy mode."

"You're one hiding things!" Damon yelled at Bonnie. "Did you disrupt the order of things again?"

"I saved your life!" the witch retorted. "And Stefan's, and Caroline's and…"

Bonnie's expression softened as she turned to Elena. "Who did this to you?"

Elena shrugged. "I don't know. I was in an accident. I drowned. I woke up like this."

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked as he reached the group.

"She is what she is," Damon said bluntly. "You need to explain what Tyler is."

The witch's eyes moved between the glaring Damon and Elena, whose eyes were still pleading. Jeremy was standing next to her, watching her, just like the others.

"I don't know what Tyler is. That was Klaus." She looked to where the Original had been during their confrontation. "I had to do a spell to keep him alive."

"You kept Klaus alive?" Damon asked incredulously.

"A dead Klaus means you die!" Bonnie spat back. "We've covered that."

"And Tyler?" Elena asked.

"I don't…I don't know, exactly," Bonnie stuttered. "He could still be alive, in some form."

"This is great," Damon said, turning away from them all. "I save Rebekah from Rick-the-Vampire-Hunter, you save Klaus, Elena is in league with Elijah. We just someone to team up with Kol."

"I'm not 'in league with' Elijah," Elena muttered at the same time Bonnie yelled "I saved you!"

"What's going on?" Jeremy repeated. "What's this about Tyler…and Klaus?"

"Jer, please," Elena whispered.

"You tell him what you did," Damon said, glaring at Bonnie.

"Damon…" Bonnie began.

"Fine," Bonnie spat, turning and starting to pull Jeremy to her car.

"Elena?" Jeremy said, staying in place and looking at her.

Elena nodded. She had to talk to Damon, and she didn't want Jeremy to be alone. "Go with her. We'll talk as soon as I get home."

Jeremy scowled, but followed Bonnie to the car.

Damon and Elena watched the witch and the human enter the car. As it drove away, Damon said, "And witches wonder why people want to burn them."

Elena turned to look at him, glaring. "You had to have done this to me…made me a vampire."

Damon glared back. "Of course it was me, Elena. You died. Do you think your Chosen One would have lifted a finger to save you?"

" Quit calling him that!" she demanded. "Just admit it. It was you, wasn't it."

Damon's glare changed to a smirk. "Been dreaming of drinking my blood, Elena?"

Elena closed her eyes and rubbed her head. She wasn't sure why she had made the accusation, probably because Bonnie had brought it up. But she couldn't remember anything, and if she had been compelled to forget, she should remember now. It really bothered her that she didn't know who her sire was.

She opened her eyes and raised her hands to show him that she was done with it. "Okay. Sorry. But Bonnie was right. She did save you."

"Yeah," Damon said, "Bonnie loves vampires. You saw how she acted when she found out about you being turned."

Elena closed her eyes and spoke through gritted teeth, "She still did it, Damon. Quit being such a jerk." She opened her eyes. "Help me decide what to do about my family."

His face shifted again. It was almost blank. "Yes. The Petrova doppelgangers. Did you get a lead on one?"

Elena found his blank expression worse than his smirk. She had no idea if he was serious, or not. Then she realized what he had said. "Didn't you hear?"

Damon shook his head. "I wasn't here to eavesdrop, Elena. I was here to prevent what almost happened from happening."

"So if you didn't," Elena said softly, "maybe Klaus didn't hear. Maybe he doesn't know."

"Know what, Elena?" Damon asked.

"It's not like the address was spoken aloud," Elena continued, seemingly not hearing him.

They were facing each other, so Damon gently pulled Elena's chin up so she would look at him. "What might Klaus not know?"

Elena turned to look behind her, forcing Damon to drop his hand, and spoke softly. "My grandma said I have a cousin who looks exactly like me."

Damon look shocked briefly, then concerned. "Another doppelganger?"

Elena nodded. "I need to check it out. I have her address."

"And you're worried that Klaus might know."

Elena nodded again. "He did say he knew where to start looking."

Damon tried to reassure her. "I don't think he heard anything, Elena. I kept him busy before he got too close."

Elena nodded, obviously still distracted. "Thanks…but if he didn't hear, what did he mean by knowing where to start looking?"

"He probably means starting here…with your grandparents."

Damon didn't say it to upset her, but it obviously did. She looked afraid as she back up slightly shaking.

"We can't let him do anything to them," she finally managed to say.

Damon moved to close the gap, them grasped both of her arms as he looked into her eyes. "We won't, Elena. I won't let him."

Elena's expression turned hopeful. "You'll stay here? Make sure he doesn't try to hurt them?"

"Yes. I can do that for you."

Elena lowered her eyes and nodded, obviously relieved. "Okay. Thanks." Then as an afterthought, she added, "I'll talk to Elijah. Maybe he'll agree to keep them safe, so you don't have to…"

"Whatever you want Elena."

Elena nodded. "Thank you Damon. I mean it…Thank you." She turned to leave.

"And Elena?"

Elena turned back to look at him.

"Be careful. Bonnie may have been your best friend, but you know she doesn't like vampires. Elijah keeps apologizing to you – after he breaks his word. My brother will leave you alone when you ask. Maybe you shouldn't send him away until I'm back with you."

He almost expected some kind of retort, or for her to at least scowl at him. She didn't. There was just a tired nod.

Damon moved back to where he could clearly see the Fleming house, and tried Katherine's phone number…again.

* * *

When She Wasn't Wondering

Elena was met by Stefan as she approached her door.

"Hey," Stefan smiled and giving her a tentative hug. She returned it slightly, then backed out.

"Is Jeremy home?" she asked

Stefan nodded, obviously a little disappointed. He still did not know where he stood with her. "He and Bonnie are both inside."

"What are they saying?" she asked, dreading the answer.

Stefan looked confused. "I haven't been listening."

Elena scowled, then closed her eyes and rubbed her head.

"You didn't want me to…did you?" he asked tentatively. He could tell she was tense, but did not know why.

"I need…blood," Elena said, deciding that it would be better to feed before she was confronted by either her brother or the witch.

"I can take you to hunt," Stefan said, moving away from her. He stopped when she didn't immediately follow. "Elena?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him now. She had to remind herself that this was what she wanted, intellectually anyway. What she really wanted was for Damon to give her another bag of human blood.

She shook her head and followed. She found herself repeating 'This is what I want,' in her head. At least she repeated it in her head when she wasn't wondering when she would be able to talk to Elijah, when she wasn't wondering how she would explain things to Jeremy. When she wasn't wondering if Damon would be forced to face Klaus for her – again.


	7. The Huntress and the Blood

The Huntress and the Truth

Elena was running as fast as she could through the woods. She had already learned that she couldn't keep up with Stefan. She had tried to do that a couple of times, then finally done what he had been telling her to do – follow her own instincts.

She had also learned she didn't have to consciously notice every tree or bush. She could just follow the animal she was chasing as fast as she could - she automatically avoided obstacles.

She wasn't sure what she was chasing, but she was catching it. She was aware that she had turned herself over completely to her basic instincts. She wasn't thinking at all, just moving.

When she caught the small animal with one last leap, she just closed her eyes and bit into it. She let herself do whatever felt right – again, no thought required.

It was only after she had drained the animal of blood that she began to think again. She dropped the animal and backed away from it, just staring at the carcass. Had she really done that? She wasn't even sure what it was – maybe a raccoon.

She realized her face still had a lot of blood on it, her hands as well. She looked around for something she could use to clean herself, leaves, grass – anything.

It was then that Stefan found her and led her to a nearby stream. He helped her clean up, but she barely noticed him. All she could think was, 'what have I become?'

"Do you need to do it again?" Stefan asked. "It was pretty small."

Elena shook her head stiffly. "I'm fine."

Stefan look at her dubiously. He didn't know about some of the blood Damon had given her previously, and she didn't want to bring it up. "Do you need more?" she asked.

"No. I'm fine," he said.

"Then let's go home," Elena said. "I still need to talk to Jeremy about all of this."

Stefan was caught off guard, and stopped briefly before running to catch up with her. "You haven't told him that you're a vampire?" he asked incredulously.

Elena shook her head.

"Elena…"

Elena stopped walking and turned on him sharply. "Don't judge!" She yelled. "I didn't want any of this."

He was obviously taken aback. He didn't respond until she turned and started walking again.

"Elena, you know you can end it anytime."

She almost made a snarky retort, but held back. Instead she tried to change the subject. "After I woke up in the hospital, you said something about Meredith saving my life. By giving me vampire blood?"

"Yes," Stefan said. He was a little unsure of her mood just then, so said no more.

"Where did she get vampire blood?" Elena asked.

Stefan hesitated. Damon had complained to him that Meredith had 'blood jacked' him, but he hadn't known if Damon had said anything to Elena about it. Apparently not.

The doppelganger looked at him suspiciously as she walked. "You know, don't you? Tell me – or are you keeping things from me?"

"Damon," Stefan said quickly, sure her bad mood would allow nothing else from him. "She knocked him out, or something, and took the blood from him. He wasn't happy about it."

"Of course," Elena said irritably.

She took off, running at top speed. It was harder that Stefan expected to keep up with her. She was getting stronger.

She didn't stop until she reached her home. When Stefan was immediately next to her, she didn't look at him. She just stated at the door briefly before saying, "I need to talk to Jeremy alone. See you later?" Then she walked towards the door.

"Sure," was all Stefan could manage as she left him standing in her yard.

Jeremy and Bonnie were in the living room when she entered. Bonnie was immediately up, heading for the front door.

As she passed Elena, the witch made the doppelganger grimace briefly by whispering "Tell him the truth, Elena. I'm tired of lying to him. He deserves more than lies and half-truths."

Elena turned to Bonnie as the witch opened the door. "Did you tell him what you did with Klaus and Tyler?"

Bonnie glared at her. "He knows about them. You need to make sure he knows about you."

* * *

The Gilbert Line and the Reason she Lives

"Please say something," Elena begged. Jeremy had listened quietly, blank expression on his face, and she couldn't stand it. She knew his mind had to be racing, she wished he would share his thoughts with her.

"You know I would never hurt you," she added to reassure him. "You're as safe with me as you ever were with Anna." She was tempted to say something about Damon, but remembered he had snapped Jeremy's neck once. She thought of Stefan briefly, but didn't want to mention him to Jeremy – or to anyone, really. Stefan was starting to get on her nerves.

The Anna comment got a reaction from him, though. "Will you turn me?" he asked.

"What?" Elena asked, obviously confused.

"Will you turn me?" He repeated. "Will you make me a vampire.?"

"No!" she said quickly, hoping she didn't sound too disgusted by his question. "Of course not.

"Why not?" He asked. He was glaring at her now. "Do you want me to die?"

"What? Jeremy…"

"Everyone I have ever loved has either died, or become a vampire." His glare was intense as she had ever seen it.

"Jer, please." She was pleading now. "You're the only chance to keep the Gilbert line going. There's no one else."

Jeremy just stared at her, then asked, "When have you ever cared about the Gilberts?" He turned from her and walked away.

"Jeremy!" she called after him, rising to follow, but her phone rang. She stopped, shook her head, and pulled it out of her pocket. She didn't recognize the calling number, but took the call anyway.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone.

"Ah, Elena," came the response. "Big changes in your life, I hear. Or is it your death? Vampire." The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it right away.

"Who is this?" Elena asked.

Elena could almost hear the pout as the caller said "You don't recognize my voice? Even though you're only alive because of me? And I don't just mean biologically."

'Biologically?' Elena thought, before it clicked. "Katherine."

"Yes!" Katherine exclaimed. "I'm glad to see that brain of yours if finally working. Damon said you wanted him to call me, but that you didn't really know exactly what you wanted him to tell me."

Elena gritted her teeth as Katherine continued speaking. "He did mention that you found your grandmother Flemming. A relative of both of us. I should get to know her."

"Katherine, what do you…" Elena began.

"He also told me of another doppelganger."

"Damon," Elena found herself whispering, not really sure why he would tell Katherine so much.

"Her name is Jennifer," the older vampire continued. "He said I should go to her, make sure she is safe." Katherine hesitated, as if thinking. "Has he given up on you? Is he looking for a replacement?"

"No!" Elena denied quickly, her irritation increasing.

"So he's sent me to find her, and protect her until you decide what to do. Still have him at your beck and call, I see. Is Stefan still like that, too?"

"No," she denied. "He's just…"

"All these instructions for me, but you didn't give him the address to pass on to me. Really, Elena, I have to wonder if you want my help at all."

Elena was flustered. "Uh…" was all she could say before Katherine spoke again.

"The address, Elena." Katherine's voice was hard now. "Where is Jennifer? If what Damon has told me is true, if Klaus is looking for another doppelganger, I need to find her before he does."

"You can't hurt her," Elena said quickly.

"I'm glad you cleared that up. The address, Elena."

"Just find her, and call us. And keep her safe until we know what to do. OK?"

Elena could tell that Katherine had moved from sarcastic to annoyed. "You can trust me, or leave her to Klaus, Elena. Which is it?"

Elena grimaced and gave Katherine Jennifer's address, hoping it wasn't a mistake.

* * *

The Originals and the Blood

Damon heard Elena coming, so he rose and turned to her. He wasn't, however, expecting her to punch him in the jaw, which is what she did when she reached him.

He felt the punch, but it didn't knock him down. Really, Elena's expression showed that she might have felt it even more than he did.

"What?" Damon smirked. "You're not greeting me with a 'holy kiss'?"

"You knew!" She accused. "You knew it was your blood that Meredith used on me, that you are my sire."

"Are you sure, Elena? Maybe she just asked Stefan for blood and he gave it to her. Maybe it was him."

"Oh, stop!" she countered. "He would have told me. You didn't"

"Yeah, having her steal my blood wasn't my proudest hour," Damon retorted. Besides, I think I told you that I was your sire the last time we spoke."

"You were just mocking Stefan – saying he wouldn't do anything to save me." She was still glaring at him.

"I was telling you the truth – about both. Me as the sire, him not doing what it takes to save you."

Her eyes were still hard, but softened as he added, "It doesn't matter. Meredith gave you the blood, but I would have done it myself if you needed it to stay alive. Would you rather be dead?"

Elena shook her head.

"So we agree on that. But you still hit me."

"Sorry," Elena said softly, sitting on the ground and looking at the Flemming house. "I just…never wanted this."

"I know," Damon said, sitting next to her. "And I'm sorry – about you being a vampire, not about you being alive."

Elena nodded and closed here eyes. Damon could tell she was upset.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"I told Jeremy what I am," she responded. "That didn't go so well."

Damon was nodding when she spoke again, "And I tried hunting. I …ate… a raccoon," She said, shuddering.

"Sounds tempting," Damon said, smirking.

Elena smiled a little. "It wasn't. It was gross – once I realized what I was doing, anyway"

"Giving yourself to your instincts." Damon said.

Elena nodded. "It was scary, like watching myself from the outside."

"You can control it, Elena."

Elena shook her head. "I couldn't. I could only watch it while I did it."

"But it felt good – to follow your instincts like that?"

Elena nodded. "Until I realized what I had done."

"And the raccoon blood?" Damon asked.

Elena grimaced. "Out of control and bad aftertaste."

Damon laughed. "You'll learn control."

"Then when I told Stefan that I hadn't ever wanted to be a vampire; he said I could end it anytime. Like I didn't already know that."

"Still seeking comfort from your 'chosen one'?" Damon asked. Then, seeing she was going to complain about his use of the term 'chosen one' again, he quickly added, "You'll learn control, and you can become what you want. You don't have to turn into anything you don't want to."

This statement calmed her. She was nodding and started to speak. "Katherine called…"

Damon was gone so fast that she almost didn't see him. Her eyes turned to the Flemming house, where she saw that Damon was intercepting Klaus, who was headed for the door. She was up and next to Damon immediately.

"I'm just here to meet the family," Klaus said, apparently answering Damon.

"They're my family," Elena retorted, trying to pull Damon to put more space between him and the Original.

"Your family is my family," Klaus said. "Do you think I can't smell his blood in your veins? You are another of my children."

"Stay away from them," Elena said.

Another voice spoke from behind her. "Trouble with hybrids, Elena?" Elijah asked.

"That's not Tyler," Elena said, though not turning to look at Elijah. "That's Klaus."

Elena didn't see Elijah's confused expression, but Damon did. "Witch wants mom to live, dying Original, spare hybrid, mojo…everyone lives. And Klaus looks like that."

Elena glared at Damon while Elijah looked hesitantly at Klaus. "Niklaus?"

"In the flesh, though not really the flesh I want. But doppelganger blood can fix that."

"No!" Elijah said quickly to his brother. "I've agreed we'll leave her, and her family, alone."

Klaus turned a glare to his brother. "Well haven't you been busy, with your agreements and all. But I don't recall giving you power of attorney for me."

"I will do what I have to," Elijah retorted. "The witch may have kept you alive, but I can change that."

"Are you mental?" Damon interrupted. "If he dies, Elena dies. We all die."

"Glad you finally sorted all of that out," Klaus said to Damon.

"Just take him away, and keep him away," Damon said to Elijah.

"Not happening," Klaus said. "But we could put an end to this if Elena would just let me take some of her blood."

"She's not human," Elijah objected. Klaus ignored him and stared at Elena.

"What?" Elena asked Klaus, glaring. "Do you just want me to meet you at the hospital in the morning?"

"No!" Damon said, at the same time Klaus replied, "That would be great. And bring your witch. She has the power to work the spell."

"Take him away, and keep him away," Damon said to Elijah again.

Klaus' eyes were fixed on Elena as Elijah dragged him away. When still in earshot, Klaus added, "Rebekah and Kol are coming back, Elena. All your best friends will be here."

After the Originals were gone, Elena was rubbing her head as Damon put his arm around her and pulled her away. "Come on. Elijah's got Klaus tonight. Let's go home."

Elena nodded and let Damon keep his arm around her as they walked. "I have no idea what to do."

"We'll figure it out," Damon said. Elena was almost startled by the gentleness in his voice.

"At least Katherine will get to Jennifer before they do," she said.

"Glad to see you trust Katherine with that," Damon said, smirking.

"It shows you how desperate I'm getting."

"It'll be fine."

Elena nodded. They were walking at a normal pace, she really didn't want to go any faster. As she thought about it, she realized what she needed to make her feel better, or at least what had made her feel better durring the last couple of days.

"Do you have another bag of blood you could give to me?"


End file.
